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Patient Charter

Our Patient Charter is a statement of how our Dental Practice operates and the standards of care that we apply to all our patients. It defines our responsibilities and the high standards we strive to maintain and improve upon. However, to maintain these standards also requires your co-operation and the Charter therefore also defines your responsibilities to us as a patient.

Our responsibilities

To listen to your dental problems and to give you an explanation of treatment and solution to your problem that you can understand.

To respect your dignity and the choices you make.

To protect the confidentiality of any information you provide.

To co-operate with other members of our dental team and other health care colleagues so as to act in your best interest.

To follow the latest cross-infection guidelines ensuring your safety is of prime concern.

To keep up to date with the latest technologies and treatments available.

To do all we can to keep to appointment times as we understand your time is precious.

Your responsibilities

To respect our appointment times and let us know as soon as possible if you cannot make an appointment in order that it may be given to someone else.

To pay for treatment at the end of each visit as requested.

To follow any advice we may give you after treatment.

To respect our dental team and reception staff as we respect you as a patient.

Failure to attend (FTAs)

Under the new NHS contract, if a patient is unable to attend an NHS appointment and fails to notify the practice, it is no longer possible to charge an FTA fee. However, to prevent the waste of valuable clinical time, every practice has the right to deregister a patient for failing to give sufficient notice (24 hours) or failing to attend an appointment.

Our policy is as follows:

Failing to attend two appointments, or failing to give more than 24 hours notice of cancellation (unless the patient can demonstrate an acceptable reason for the cancellation) on two occasions, will lead to automatic deregistration from the practice. Surgery time is very valuable and we ask patients to allow the appointment to be offered to another patient by giving us sufficient notice. Please note that FTA fees will continue to be charged for appointments which are for private treatment upgrades.

Complaints

We treat all complaints in confidence and see them as an opportunity to improve our service. Please ask for the manager, or express your concerns in writing addressed to the practice manager.

We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. But this does not affect your right to approach the local PCT, if you feel that you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.

Violent or Abusive Behaviour

Any violent or abusive behaviour will result in immediate withdrawal from practice.